outdoor recreation

In the early years of the 20th Century before the advent of electric refrigeration, an ice house business operated west of Streator near the confluence of Eagle Creek and Egg Bag Creek. Here private interests installed a small dam that formed Spring Lake. Ice produced on the lake during winter months was cut and stored for sale during warmer months. When ice was no longer produced in this manner, the dam was destroyed and the lake drained, but the 35-acre park remaining retains this heritage in its name.

The park is a popular hiking and picnicking location, and hosts the area’s only public equestrian trail.Located 1.8 miles northwest of Streator, scenic Spring Lake Park is 37.2 acres of natural land owned by the City of Streator. The park contains two creeks, a sandstone formation waterfall, a trail system, and flora and fauna typical of central Illinois. The people of Streator invite you to enjoy hiking, bird watching, fishing, horseback riding, dog walking, photography, and the abundance of vegetation and wildlife in the park's varied terrain. The park is home to deer, wild turkeys, beavers, squirrels, snakes, frogs, butterflies and birds of all types. A towering cottonwood tree is arguably one of the largest in the state, well over 200 years old.

Spring Lake Park is 30 minutes or less from Starved Rock State Park, Matthiessen State Park, Buffalo Rock State Park, and the Illinois Michigan Canal State Trail. It is easily accessible from Interstate 39, Interstate 80, and state routes 18 and 23.